Marwah to challenge Akbar in Golkar leadership race
Marwah to challenge Akbar in Golkar leadership race
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Golkar deputy leader Marwah Daud Ibrahim said on Monday that she
was ready to challenge party leader Akbar Tandjung in the party's
leadership election at its 7th national congress in Bali from
Dec. 15 to Dec. 20.
"As the incumbent, Pak Akbar is the most prepared candidate,
but I am ready to challenge him, otherwise there will only be one
candidate in the leadership race," Marwah said here.
She said that after announcing her readiness to contest the
election, she would approach the party's regional chapters to
muster up support.
The statute and platform of the party will also be discussed
at the national congress.
Golkar's research and development department deputy leader
Hajriyanto Y. Thohari, meanwhile, said that Marwah would likely
be Akbar's main rival in the leadership election.
According to him, other Golkar leaders would not challenge
Akbar as they considered he had successfully led the party since
1998.
"However, figures from outside Golkar's executive board will
contest the race," he added.
Akbar was elected Golkar leader at the party's congress in
Jakarta in 1998. He defeated Edi Sudradjat, who later set up the
Indonesian Justice and Unity Party (PKPI).
Akbar took over party leadership when anti-Golkar sentiment
was still running high due to its support of former president
Soeharto, who ruled the country with an iron first for more than
three decades.
He successfully consolidated the party, which came second in
the 1999 election, the first following the fall of Soeharto in
1998.
"Akbar's success in consolidating the party will deter other
Golkar leaders from contesting the election," Hajriyanto added.
Marwah said she would also propose that the presidential
convention process be included in Golkar's statute to ensure the
party's commitment to the promotion of democracy.
She said that Golkar should allow those who contested the
presidential convention to contest the leadership election.
They are former military chief Gen. (ret) Wiranto, former chief
of the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) Lt. Gen. (ret)
Prabowo Subianto, media baron Surya Paloh, and Yogyakarta
Governor, Sultan Hamengkubuwono X.
Other possible contestants are Vice President Jusuf Kalla,
Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal Bakrie, and House
Speaker Agung Laksono.
Among the bodies that have voting rights at the party's
national congress are the Central Executive Board (DPP), the
Provincial chapters (DPD I), and subsidiary organizations, such
as the Multipurpose Cooperation of Mutual Assistance (Kosgoro),
Indonesian Organizational Center for Independent Employees
(Soksi), and the Mutual Assistance Consultative Organization
(MKGR), and others.